Dark Belles Come Ringing

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Wellington's own Pixel Ink Gallery is opening Melissa McDougall's first solo New Zealand show next week. McDougall is a Wellington-based painter whose new exhibition, Dark Belles, explores how urban dwellers interact with their environment. The show focuses on the idea of a female heroine inhabiting a dark cityscape.

McDougall says “The city is a creative, seductive and disruptive reflection of the human condition”. Her work is said to reflect her desire to live in and be around the city. “In Dark Belles I have moved toward a more contemplative and distant urban skyline, infused with dark childhood memories, surrealist poetry and German fairy tales." McDougall's works are figurative painting inspired by a love of Japanese prints, Film Noir and Gothic writing.

The Dunedin born artist has previously exhibited in Australia, the Philippines and the United States. Dark Belles is her sixth solo show and her first solo show in New Zealand.

The exhibition sounds like an interesting take on urban life and something which will certainly appeal to Wellingtonians as well as visitors to the city alike.